Last Wednesday I got to cover one of the monthly themed Adult Nights offered at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center right here in Somerville! Tonight’s theme: Star Wars!
Every month the Discovery Center offers Adult-Only Nights so that parents and college students can enjoy a fun night reliving their childhood playing with LEGOs without actually dealing with children!
I decided to go the event by myself in an attempt to be a real ~adult~ and see if I could enjoy a night out away from the hustle and bustle of BU alone (and spoiler alert: I did and it was REALLY fun)!
I took the T to Somerville which took about thirty minutes and required me to switch from the green line to the orange line. I came prepared with some headphones and a book to keep me busy and the travel time felt like a breeze!
The Discovery Center is located in Assembly Row, which was only a five-minute walk from the T station. As I walked to the center with my Google Maps in hand, I was awestruck by the beautiful trees already decorated with Christmas lights (who said Christmas doesn’t start in November)!
OK, confession time: I was never huge on Star Wars growing up, but I did love to play with LEGOs. While I didn’t know what I was getting myself into going to this event, I knew one thing was for sure: I would be having fun!
When I walked into the Discovery Center I was met with the smiling faces of the front desk attendants ready to give me my ticket for the night. As soon as I got my ticket, I was ready for the fun to begin!
The first LEGO creation I was met with (and probably my favorite of the night) once I went upstairs to the main event room was an incredibly detailed replica of the city of Boston made completely out of LEGOs! The replica included mini versions of Boston staples such as the Logan International Airport, The Prudential Tower, Quincy Market, T.D. Garden, Fenway Park, and my personal favorite… the CITGO sign!
Some LEGO Baseball Fans supporting the Sox!
As I admired the little details that composed the giant replica, I realized something: Boston had been invaded by the dark side! The brick version of Boston was littered with Storm Troopers and AT-ATs causing havoc.
Are those Storm Troopers or BU students crossing the street?
But, worry not! The city was in good hands, as I was able to spot some Star Wars heroes saving the day (for example I saw Yoda chillin’ by the lake in the mini Boston Common).
It’s kind of hard to tell but if you squint you can see Yoda perched on the structure between the trees!
I spent A LOT of time admiring this replica, as every time I looked through it I was able to find more and more details that I hadn’t notice before! I was really impressed with their ability to capture the true essence of Boston while also creating a fun Star Wars storyline to go with the night’s theme! Plus this exhibit also had movable elements, like a moving luggage conveyor belt at the airport and an interactive rowing race on the mini Charles River which really brought it to life!
A news reporter reporting on the chaos! Maybe she’s with Her Campus!
After spending a considerable amount of time admiring the Boston exhibit (what can I say, I was really impressed) I decided it was probably a good idea to check out what else the Center had to offer. It had a really chill and inviting vibe, and it was really nice to see some grown adults let loose and act like kids again!
The next exhibit I looked at was a LEGO Star Wars Miniland exhibit which was representing scenes from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Again, while I didn’t really know what was going on because I’m not the biggest Star Wars person, I still really enjoyed looking at how detail each scene was and playing with some more of the interactive elements that were included in the replicas.
After that, I ran into a celebrity… Darth freaking Vader! I was able to meet the man himself (in LEGO form of course) and we even snapped a picture!
I was matching with the Sith Lord…a true style icon!
After getting over how star struck I was, I decided to check out some of the other activities the night had to offer, such as a free indoor roller coaster named Merlin’s Apprentice which sends riders soaring above the center, and it was a lot of fun. There was another free ride called Kingdom Quest, where riders have to save a princess from monsters using toy guns in their chariots.
Other activities included helping the Master Model Builder of the Discovery Center build a huge statue of Yoda. The statue was completed in an hour and a half with the help of some LEGO savvy adults (which did not include me… I was too scared to mess it up!).
The last activity I enjoyed that night was creating a mini LEGO race car that I was then able to race up and down some tracks. I am by no means a LEGO expert, but my boyfriend is, and he was able to guide me in making my perfect LEGO vehicle over Facetime. When I tried to race my car down the ramp, it epically failed and broke. But, my failure resulted in a lot of laughs from both of us as it was pretty hilarious to watch.
All in all, my first LEGOLAND Adult Night experience was a great time. I definitely recommend it as a fun date night, night out with friends, or a time to go by yourself and just feel like a kid again!
Next month’s Adult Night is Ugly Sweater themed on December 12th from 7-9 PM. Tickets are $22.95 per person, but college students get $5 off with a valid student I.D.!
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